British judge approves US extradition of 'flash crash' trader
A British man, accused of a major role in the May 2010 鈥淔lash Crash鈥� of US stock market indices, can be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges, a Westminster magistrates court on ruled Wednesday.
Navinder Singh Sarao is accused of 聽鈥渟poofing鈥� the market by , reported The New York Times. US authorities estimate that on May 6, 2010, the day of the 鈥淔lash Crash,鈥� the Dow Jones Industrials briefly fell nearly 1,000 points, temporarily wiping out nearly $1 trillion worth of shares. The authorities allege that he made up to $900,000 profit that day, and about $40 million 鈥� through similar tactics 鈥� in four years.
Mr. Sarao denies any wrongdoing, and his defense team is expected to appeal the court鈥檚 decision. His lawyers argued that Sarao isn鈥檛 entirely responsible for the crash, saying that other participants contributed.
In their ruling, the judges wrote that the crash might not have resulted from the actions of Mr. Sarao alone, but 鈥�,鈥� Bloomberg reported. Adding that 鈥渋n any event, [the day of the crash] is also a single trading day in over 400 relied upon by prosecutors.鈥�
They also argued that he shouldn鈥檛 be extradited because 鈥渟poofing鈥� doesn鈥檛 constitute a crime in Britain.
To which the prosecution countered by saying that while Sarao was in the UK, most of the damage occurred in the US.
His extradition won鈥檛 take effect immediately, however. Britain鈥檚 Secretary of State has two months to review the court鈥檚 decision before the order is made official.
If the order is approved, Sarao would face 22 criminal charges, including wire fraud and commodities manipulation, which could carry a maximum of 380 years in jail. The , according to CNBC.
The ruling comes a few months after the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) made controversial , despite criticism from several departments and organizations including the US Department of Justice, criminal defense organizations, and a wide-range of advocacy groups.
The previous guidelines, which relied on calculating the amount that a criminal gains from a crime or the losses inflicted on the victim to determine the suitable sentence for the criminal, were highly disputed. Prosecutors and judges argued that some of the sentences were so severe that they aren鈥檛 taken seriously.
鈥淭he arithmetic behind the sentencing calculations is all hocus-pocus 鈥� it鈥檚 nonsensical, and I mean that sincerely,鈥� Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the US District Court in Manhattan 鈥淚t gives the illusion of something meaningful with no real value underneath.鈥�
The new guidelines, which have already faced harsh criticism, are meant to make sentencing fairer, according to the USSC. Under the new guidelines, the calculation for the sentencing is based on the criminal's role and his/her intention. But the Department of Justice argues that , the Huffington Post reported.
